workforce

Since the sixties, the traditional way of living has changed. The frivolous Dolly Parton song ‘From nine to five’, is no longer applicable to current workplace environments. Having time off in the evening and weekends is also not that obvious. By 2020 50% of the workforce will be millennials. They want to work, shop, sleep or relax randomly, which requires a more individual approach in the offered scale of options. With that said, how do we manage across generations and how does mobility play a role in the flexibility of the future workplace?

Digital technology is reshaping industries and societies. Things like big data analytics, augmented reality, 3D-printing, robotics and cognitive computing create a technological shift that impacts practically any business. Some sooner than others, but it is important that the next few years all businesses prepare for the transformation it will cause. Whether it are small, medium or large enterprises. What does this mean for employee adoption, how can you impact their behaviour? How can you change the organisation’s dna into a digital proof version?

Forget the gigs, and the sharing, and the demand. What we are really talking about is freedom. Why not embracing a new name for the budding global economy fueled by independent contract work? Let’s call it ‘the Freedom Economy’. The freedom to work on what you want to work on, for whomever you want to work for, with a team of your choosing, on the hours that you select. That is the freedom we seek in the Freedom Economy. Looking at our work life, isn’t that what we all want?

In this second edition of ‘hot or not’ I’m discussing the gig economy. I was triggered by a few articles I stumbled upon last week. Although gig economy and portfolio working is still immature, it could be the future of labour market. Technology is empowering an on demand talent market, the millennial generation is leaving behind the nine-to-five workday and financial pressure is causing organisations to think differently about resource allocation. An interesting development I find both promising and challenging at the same time for the future of the labour market and HR.

So much has been said and written about leadership, leaders and their (expected) performance. In this blog I’m not specifically referring to executives, but to anyone in the workforce; managers, employees and self-employed professionals. What about them? Well, how do they manage their self-leadership? Nowadays we have to live up to fairly high standards. Are they that high? Let’s keep that open for discussion. I think we experience them high level, when in fact they are just different due to the continuous change and the fast moving technology. Agility is something a lot of people have a hard time dealing with, so they are tempted to take the easy road. People have the tendency to constantly demand and forget that performing is what they are hired for from the start. Since when are accountability and performance optional? Why do we accept neglectful behaviour from ourselves to begin with?

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